No Fowl Play

"The chicken is about to cook!" Archie grinned at the thought that he would have his dinner tonight. The wind blew to promote the fire, which danced in the direction of the harpy with great speed.

The harpy looked at the flames in horror, and out of fright, it left droppings on the ground, which was in contact with the fire, causing fairly large explosions that blasted the entire forest landscape flat.

'Their droppings were flammable!' Archie became excited as an idea struck his mind. He is going to blow them up and eliminate them once and for all.

The other fowls that were not full-fletch harpies were also excreting droppings due to fear. Archie ran towards the fire with full speed and scooped up a hand full of fowl poop; it was already dried when it hit the ground. 

He lit the dung on fire, hurled it at the harpy like a triggered hand grenade, and then ran off to take shelter as soon as he could, with hopes that it would kill the dark creature.

While he was fleeing from the bonfire, clutching two hens, an explosion went off. The atmosphere died down as the remains and carcasses flew everywhere, spreading across the forest floor.

A shower of blessings came and killed the flames. The fire that continued to burn the forest slowly extinguished.

Archie returned to the clearing, where he set his trap and placed his bag. He swiftly retrieved it and examined his catch. He could not wait to determine the nature of his findings. Out of the six traps, only one managed to capture a beautiful,

'Bird again?'

Archie had enough birds for one night. With apprehension, he beheld the creature's multi-coloured, luminous, and bright feathers. He decided to leave the bird there, and if it figured out how to escape, he couldn't care less.

Besides, he caught two chickens and destroyed the entire harpy flock; he felt pretty content with his survival.

Archie gathered his remaining bag of weed and contemplated whether he needed to use it to start the fire again. Then a gentle breeze blew in the night and whispered, "Free the Phoenix."

Archie let out a huge sigh in exasperation and replied, "Can I prepare dinner first? I am really exhausted." He side-eyed at the empty corner where he felt the breeze most, imagining the invisible Sid floating there.

There was no response; he took it as Sid's consent and washed his smelly hands to make sure all the poop was removed before he started to defeather the chicken by force.

He lit a campfire and started to manually pluck off the fowl's feathers. "It will be easier if I have a bucket of hot water to scald it; it will make plucking off the feathers a lot easier." Archie remarked, more to himself.

Then another wisp of whisper, "Free the phoenix."

Finally giving in to Sid's demand, Archie threw his hands up in frustration and said, "Alright, alright!"

Gesturing towards the pit that held the phoenix, he rose to his feet. The stunning creature gazed at him, its pupils distorting as its glowing eyes abruptly faded to black, losing their sparkle.

Archie gathered twigs and branches that were found lying on the ground and created a nest for the phoenix to lie on. With care, he went down the pit, carried the phoenix gently out of it, and placed it on the nest for it to rest.

Archie lingered for a moment, his cautious gaze locked on the phoenix. 'Its beauty will be a contradiction if it is potentially a threat, Sid." He muttered in frustration to his phantom, windy friend.

Not knowing what else to do, he took out his bottle of water from his bag, poured some water on his handkerchief and tried to quench its thirst. The phoenix eyes were closed, so Archie gently opened its beak to let drops of water enter its beak.

Then he applied the wet handkerchief all over the phoenix, as if giving it a dry bath with the damp cloth.

Archie laid the phoenix on the nest and stood up to see that the wildfire had been extinguished and the forest was dead silent. He headed towards the campfire and continued to remove the feathers and prepare his meal for the night.

Archie took hours to roast the chickens on the open fire. Once it was done, he was salivating and his stomach was growling. Suddenly, he heard a chirp from behind him. He turned around and saw the phoenix, wide awake.

The wind blew, and before he started to give any wisp of whispers, Archie said, "I know, I know, feed the phoenix."

Archie sighed, but he wasn't annoyed. He was planning to feed it anyway. He just wanted to have the first bite of the chicken because he was absolutely famished.

He brought the chickens by holding them at their feet and walking towards the phoenix.

"Now which one do you want? One is slightly bigger than the other." Archie raised both chickens at the phoenix eye level as its viridescent eyes gleamed at both roasted chickens that smelt amazing.

The phoenix was looking at its potential meal right and left, as though it were difficult to choose.

Archie's eyes softened at the sight of the indecisive phoenix, and he said, "Just choose the bigger one. Finish them and rest. I will clean up after you."

Archie's stomach suddenly growled, and his hunger sharpened as it took him so long to have a meal. He seized the drumstick from the whole chicken with intensity because he was ravenous.

Archie devoured his meat; the rich flavors and the sensation of filling his stomach after what felt like an eternity of starvation filled him with a profound sense of satisfaction and relief.

Each bite of the chicken was a validation of his victory against the harpy and its flock of deranged birds that had threatened his life.

He raised his hand to look at his wristwatch while munching on the meat he had just devoured. His eyebrows arched to find that time had stopped! "Maybe the watch is malfunctioning."

The phoenix began to cheep abruptly, stopping him in his tracks just as he was going to reach for his bag to retrieve his phone.

Archie looked around and fixed his gaze on the majestic creature and its untouched chicken.

He tried to spot the phoenix's body for any peculiarities; the bird was clever enough to shift its body slightly to hide its injury, but after thoroughly checking the bird, he finally found it under the phoenix's belly.

While attempting to prop up the wounded phoenix, Archie saw that it was swaying unsteadily from side to side. On top of that, it was hesitant to take flight.

As he stared at the creature, he noticed that it had suffered some injuries to its stomach. Claw marks were seen slashed and feathers were destroyed, like it was tortured. 

"Did it hurt? You don't have the appetite to eat. I will shred the meat for you, so please have something to eat. After that, I will tend to your wound." Archie meticulously separated the bones from the meat and shredded them into tiny chunks.

The Phoenix tweeted with excitement, as if it understood Archie's statement and agreed. It welcomes Archie's offer to feed the meat without struggle. Finally, when it finished half of the chicken, the phoenix stopped eating and expressed its content. 

"Enough? Alright, now let me tend to your wound. It is going to be fine; I am going to be gentle." Archie removed his jacket and covered the phoenix. The phoenix naturally relaxed as it came into contact with Archie's touch.

Archie rummaged through his backpack and took out a first-aid kit. He tilted the phoenix to the side slowly and carefully to see the wound, which was a result of larger predators leaving claw marks.

Although Archie was a pre-med student, he was quite fond of animals during his younger days on the farm with his grandfather.

But the creature before him was not a domesticated chicken, but a magical phoenix.

Taking that into account, he contemplated whether he should administer medications to the bird.

Without thinking, he looked at the phoenix and started to say, "I don't know if these medications are suitable, but one thing I know is, your wound needs cleaning and dressing, so let me do that and then we shall see if the medicine is required."

The phoenix cocked its head and chirped, and Archie continued to ensure the wound was well taken care of.

Exhausted from the unexpected, surreal adventure that came before him, Archie finally completed tending the phoenix and he placed the slumbering creature on top of the nest. 

The day had been a whirlwind of emotions and physical exertion, far beyond anything he had ever encountered in his wildest dreams.

The reality of his current situation was daunting, but his excitement sparked as he thought of his adventures in this new realm. 'Might as well make the most of this place.' Archie muttered softly.

A gentle breeze blew and sleep finally claimed him. Archie thought of his grandfather and wondered if he would ever see him again.

He made himself comfortable laying beside the tranquil phoenix as he drifted away into his slumber. The fire was kindling softly and slowly extinguished into the night.

But little did he know, there were a pair of yellow eyes staring at him and the phoenix as they were in their deep slumber—another creature stealthily hiding in the bushes.